Nichols: Slow play continues to be a black eye for the LPGA. It’s time to shrink the field at The Annika

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Charley Hull has an admittedly ruthless idea to fix slow play on the LPGA. Under Hull’s rules, two-shot penalties shall be given out more frequently and repeat offenders would “lose your tour card instantly.” She knows something so extreme would never happen, but the threat of Q-School would kill slow play for good.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Hull, one of the fastest players in golf, “and I feel sorry for the fans how slow it is out there.”

For the past three years, the check-writers of The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican have asked the LPGA for a smaller field. It’s a matter of math, really. With 120 players in the field this time of year, it’s tough to get everyone around before the sun goes down. Even without weather delays.

And with the tour unable to rein in the issue of slow play, the ideal field for this week might be less than 100 players.

“These players are role models,” said tournament host Annika Sorenstam “You see the young girls out here, they’ve got to show how to play fast if they’re going to grow this game.”

When Kaitlyn Papp Budde came to the demanding 18th on Friday at Pelican Golf Club, the lights from the driving range had been moved over to help light up the green. While that didn’t help her too much in the fairway, she didn’t want to sleep on that second shot over water. She hit her approach, and then woke up early on Saturday to finish up her round along with two others. For the second consecutive day, play spilled over to the next morning despite no interruptions in play.

The ripple effect meant that with tee times pushed back 30 minutes, stars Nelly Korda and Charley Hull came to the 18th on Saturday after the sun came down. Korda called it “poor planning” that they had to finish in the dark. Golf Channel’s TV window was slated to end at 5 p.m. and extended to 5:51 p.m. The final group teed off at 12:13 p.m. on Saturday. That’s a snail’s pace of five hours and 38 minutes.

Sums it up. pic.twitter.com/kNJKxEWIgL

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) November 16, 2024

“I think the pace has gotten slower and slower, even practice rounds,” said Sorenstam. “It’s gotten to the point where a lot of players don’t even want to play 18 and it shouldn’t be that way.

“It’s something the tour needs to address.”

With several players in this week’s field trying to secure their full cards for 2025, cutting down the field would take away an opportunity for those further down the CME points list. But with pace of play a worsening issue, the logistics of The Annika could be made so much smoother with a more limited field.

Justin Sheehan, the director of golf/COO at Pelican Golf Club who first dreamed up the idea of this event, wrote a note to LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan on Sunday morning, once again laying out the case for a smaller field. They’d love to have Sorenstam hit a ceremonial tee shot on Thursday, example, but there’s simply not enough time.

Two of the most popular players in the game were battling down the stretch on Saturday and all anyone on social media could talk about was the terrible pace of play and darkening skies.

“Common sense tells you if there’s not enough daylight, just don’t have as many players,” said Sheehan. “You don’t need to be a rocket scientist for that.”

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda came into the week with a berth into the CME Group Tour Championship on the line. With a $4 million winner’s check up for grabs next week, the $4,000 fine she incurred for slow play might have been worth it as she nabbed the 60th and final spot in the field.

“I know I have to improve, and I’ll try to do that next year,” said Ciganda of her pace of play.

“I don’t think people understand how tough golf can be … mentally it’s a lot tougher than what people think. Golfers just drink some beers and play some golf, and we do this for a living. A lot goes through in your mind.”

Papp Budde, who was also hit with a slow-play fine this week, said she’d like to see the tour add more rules officials to its staff.

“Fines only do so much,” said Lauren Coughlin. “Some players are like, it’s worth it to take the fine. So I think the only real way is to penalize players.”

Missing the television window is always a problem, but even more so when network coverage is involved. Extended coverage typically moves off network to streaming or to cable on CNBC. LPGA sponsors pay low six figures for network coverage, only to have the end of a round or a tournament bumped to another station. That’s risky business.

The LPGA isn’t going to fix the slow-play issue overnight. But it can fix the race against daylight at The Annika in short order by shrinking the field. It’s important to provide opportunities for players, but it’s more important to safeguard the quality of the product.

In five short years, The Annika has quickly become one of the premiere events on the LPGA schedule. The power players involved here – Gainbridge, the Doyle family and Sorenstam – should be granted this request.

It’s for the greater good.